That Was Then
by TheDevilYouDon't
Summary: Harry/Hermione. One-shot. Harry's always known what he's wanted. R & R, please.


**Okay, so here's another Harmonie(?) story that I thought of as I was in the orthodontist's office today. Tomorrow's my last day of school! So, I'll definitely have more stories on the way. Make sure to let me know what you think. This takes place in their seventh year.**

_That Was Then_

Ever since a young age, Harry Potter had known exactly what he wanted. When he was 10 he knew for a fact that he wanted a new family. One that fed him on a regular basis and gave him a real bed to sleep in. When he was 11, he knew that he wanted to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry more than he had ever wanted anything else. When he was 12, he knew that he wanted to take back everything that had happened with Mr. Weasley's car. When he was 13, he knew that he wanted to live with Sirius Black, away from the Dursleys. When he was 14, he wanted to find a way out of the Triwizard Tournament and somehow get Ron on his side again. When he was 15, he wanted Umbridge to be sacked and thrown in Azkaban almost as much as he wanted Sirius back. And, when he was 16, he wanted Ginny.

Now, Harry never wanted Ginny in a way that most boys want girls that they fancy. No, he wanted Ginny on his side forever. He wanted her to be there to hold his hand and comfort him as Ron and Hermione had always done. He wanted her to be his biggest supporter and fan, and he wanted to listen to her silly frustrations almost as much as he wanted to snog her senseless. By the end of his 6th year at Hogwarts, however, he wasn't sure why he had ever wanted any of that with Ginny. Now, all he wanted was for her to leave him in peace and quiet as she had so many years before.

One birthday and a summer of terror under his belt left him wanting something that he could never quite pinpoint. Somehow he knew that whatever the bloody hell it was, it was close. And he knew it better than he knew himself. Harry spent the better part of his stay at the Weasley's trying to figure out exactly what it was he wanted. Never before had he had so much difficutly making up his mind or trying to decipher silly thoughts.

Even after he, Ron, and Hermione had left and gone on their search for the Horcruxes, Harry had still not figured out what the thing he wanted most was. Several times he thought it might be his want to destroy Voldemort above everything else. To save those he cared for or had yet to meet. Those who depended on him. But, as much as he _did, _want that, it simply was not what he wanted most.

When Ron had left, Harry spent most of his days sulking around inside the tent or outside the tent, keeping watch with Hermione and trying not to let go. He knew that if he did give up on trying to find the Horcruxes, the world that he had fallen in love with 6 years ago would cease to exist in the way he had always dreamed it would.

At first, he thought that Hermione was worse of without Ron than he was, but later on he saw that this was not the case. Sure, she was as sad as he when Ron had first left, but she had known him and been friends with him for almost as long as Harry. Then, she seemed to brighten up. The muffled sobs from her rooms suddenly stopped one night and suddenly conversations returned to normal between the two.

Harry figured out what it was one night when the two of them were sitting cross-legged on the floor of the tent eating a meager soup that Hermion had been preparing for every meal for the past week. Though it was an acquired taste, Harry learned to live with it. They both did. After all, food was food, and right now, food was scarce for them.

Hermione was sitting across from Harry leaning back against a small sofa against one wall of the tent. She had her knees pulled up against her chest now, and she seemed to be deep in thought. Perhaps it was the way that her eyes glistened at her unknown thoughts or maybe the was the way that her bushy, chestnut hair fell into her eyes however hard she tried to push it behind her ears. Whatever it was, Harry first realized that his best friend was beautiful.

In fact, the thought struck Harry in such a way that he suddenly scooted backwards and dripped soup down his front. His eyes were wide as Hermione giggled and crawled over to him to help him and his soup to their feet. His sweater was almost soaked through, and, as Hermione grabbed a towel to wipe down the shirt under it, Harry tugged it off and dropped it on the floor at the base of the kitchen counter.

"Harry," Hermione sighed as she began to wipe at his t-shirt. He could tell from the tone in her voice that she was amused at his sudden spurt of clumsiness.

"Sorry," he managed to croak out, though the sight of her bent over him trying to clean him up was almost too much to bear.

"What could have possibly caused the famous Harry Potter to be so surprised that he happened to spill soup on himself?" Hermione asked as she picked up both his sweatshirt and the towel and put them in the sink.

"It was...nothing."

"Mhm," Hermione nodded, turning to him with one hand on her hip. "Why don't I believe you?"

"Because...you don't want to?" Harry joked, chuckling.

"Hm...Maybe. Or maybe it's because after 7 years, I can read you like a book."

"Do you really think that's it?"

"Yep."

"Okay, then."

"So, tell me the truth."

"What if I didn't want to?"

"I'd make you anyway.

"Is that a threat, Granger?"

"You bet it is, Potter."

"Fine." Harry gave in. But, what could he say. _'Oh, it was nothing, Hermione. I was just shocked at how beautiful you are and how I had never noticed. It scared me, so I jumped back and spilled your delicious dinner down my front.' _Yeah. That would work out really nicely.

"Go on," Hermione was watching him intently now. Her arms were crossed and she leaned back against the kitchen counter.

"It's just that," Harry quickly wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. _Here goes._ "I...never really noticed how...pretty you are."

As he said it, Harry could feel the blood rushing to his face and he wondered to himself just how red he had turned. Hermione said nothing, just stared at the floor of the tent without moving. For what seemed like hours, no one spoke. The two of them just stood there, not daring to look each other in the eye, until, finally, Hermione spoke up.

"I thought you liked Ginny." It was simple, and definitely to the point.

"Well, I...thought I did last year. But, that was then...this is now," Harry tried to explain it as best as he could. It wasn't as if it was a simple thing.

"Why?" That was all she could manage to choke out.

"All of my life, I've known exacty what I wanted. Whether it be a new broomstick or 20 pieces of toast for a snack, I've never had any trouble figuring it out. But, last year, after things ended with Ginny, I wanted something more than I had wanted anything else before that. More than I wanted Dumbledore back or Sirius to talk to me or Ron to be on my side or Ginny. I wanted this one thing so much, that more than half my time was spent trying to figure out what it was.

"Then, Ron left and...things between me and you got better. I swear, it wasn't as if I've known for 5 years exacty how I've felt about you. In fact, it hid me so hard I spilled my dinner on myself. You've got to know that I think you're beautiful, Hermione. But, that's why it scared me so bad. Because for half a year, that thing that I've wanted more than anything else, more than _life_ was you."

Hermione did not speak. Her eyes glistened and she took a step forward, wrapping her warm arms around his torso and pulling him into an embrace. Harry put his arms around hear and felt the beating of her heart match his. The whole ordeal had really been beautiful. More beautiful than wanting Ginny and getting her. Then again, that was then and this embrace in a darkened tent in the middle of nowhere during an impending battle was now.

**Hope you liked it. It was sort of longer than most of my other one-shots. Again, sorry for the cheesey ending.**

**What I can't believe is that I finished this story in less than 20 minutes while my stupid cat was lying next to me, purring so loudly I could hardly hear myself freaking think. Dumb cat. XD **


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